It is not uncommon for objects contained upon shelves located within medicine cabinets, cupboards, closets, and bookshelves to fall therefrom. This dangerous problem is particularly acute in geographical areas that are prone to frequent earthquakes. Furthermore, persons suffering from reduced or impeded dexterity often have difficulty retrieving objects from such shelving without inadvertently knocking other objects off the shelf.
The inventor is aware that some very expensive yachts contain costly custom manufactured and specially designed cabinetry. Such cabinetry may have a slightly raised, permanently installed, rigid railing located upon the front edge of the shelves. Such railing typically has a height of one to one-half inches (1" to 11/2") and forms a rigid front lip for the shelf. Such railing is usually made of wood, although it may alternatively be manufactured from brass or other rigid metals or materials.
The railing is intended to prevent objects that are sliding upon the shelf from falling therefrom when the yacht rolls and pitches in the sea or ocean. Such railing, however, is not intended to replace locked and secured cabinet doors or drawers. Any capable seaman knows that objects that are likely to fall from a shelf during a storm or rough seas must be stowed away behind a locked cabinet door, drawer, or locker.
The inventor is also aware that many refrigerators have compartments therein that form small trays or enclosures. Such trays or enclosures are universally manufactured from rigid materials, such as from metal and/or from rigid, thermoplastic.
The following patents relate to various devices or processes for retaining objects upon a tray or shelf: Florian (U.S. Pat. No. 2,807,312; issued Sep. 24, 1957); Postula et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,137,249; issued Jun. 16, 1964); and Liss et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,755; issued Oct. 19, 1965).
Florian ('312) discloses snap-on guards for children's high chairs that include tray portions for holding food. The guards can be attached or detached from the tray and act as a guard to retain food, dishes, toys, and the like on the tray. The guard is manufactured from a flexible transparent sheet of thin plastic material. However, the guard must be of sufficient thickness to be self-supporting. The guard is transparent so that it will not interfere with the vision of the child who may occupy the chair. The outer marginal edge of the tray is provided with a plurality of fasteners which are spaced regularly throughout the entire edge of the tray. The fasteners are shown as head-and-socket fasteners. The heads are screwed into the wood of the tray. The sockets are secured to the marginal edge of the base of the sheet.
Postula et al. ('249) discloses a reinforced wire shelf for medicine cabinets and the like. The shelf is of a composite welded wire construction, and includes a complex array of components, such as a continuous peripheral frame, and a plurality of transversely extending rods and reinforcing rods that form two trusses to reinforce the shelf against vertical bending. The shelf is also provided with a guard assembly including an upper rod member having integral legs that are welded to one of the reinforcing rods. The guard assembly also includes a central leg and a longitudinal lower rod member. The guard further reinforces the shelf to resist vertical deflection thereof.
Liss et al. ('755) discloses a magnetic guard rail for medicine cabinets and the like. The guard rail is used to help prevent accidental breakage of items contained upon a shelf within a medicine cabinet. The disclosed device is designed to be used with medicine cabinets that are fabricated from steel or include steel members. The disclosed device comprises a complex array of components including plastic front posts, an integrally formed connecting rib, body members, a nonmagnetizable shelf, rear body members, cup-shaped circular shells, permanent magnets of circular shape, a steel surface, rod or railing members that extend between the posts and slidably engage with the posts through apertures, and a resilient clip. In essence, the body members which support the guard rail are held in position on the shelf by the attractive force of attached magnets. Thus, the guard rail is held in place through the utilization of magnets.
The devices described above are significantly different from the various embodiments of the present invention as will be described below.
The inventor believes that the devices and patents cited above, whether taken alone or in combination, neither anticipate nor render obvious the present invention. The foregoing discussion does not constitute an admission that such devices and/or patents are either relevant or material to the present claims. Rather, such devices and patents relate only to the general field of the invention and are cited as constituting the closest art of which the inventor is aware.